In the production of butadiene, e.g., by dehydrogenation or naphtha cracking, a certain amount of vinylacetylene is generally produced. Since vinylacetylene in many instances is a poison for the catalyst for polymerizing butadiene and since vinylacetylene also constitutes a safety hazard because the compound is unstable in higher concentrations, it is desirable to remove vinylacetylene from the butadiene stream.